Overview

Fedora maintains a primary Twitter account and a primary Identi.ca account for disseminating information to non-contributing users, potential users, and potential contributors with a goal to expand the community and keep said community informed. These Fedora microblogging accounts are not intended as a communications medium for contributors in the project.

Why should we use microblogging?

Effective at reaching large audiences

Empowers Fedora to give brief, consistent and simultaneous updates to followers with links to more detailed information

Allows Fedora to reach an untapped, and perhaps even less-technically interested group of users and potential users

Target audience

While this is not necessarily the target audience for the distribution, it is important to fit our messages to our perceived audience for the medium of microblogging. Thus for Twitter, as an example, we make the following assumptions:

audience member is interested in learning more about Fedora and what is happening.

audience member is NOT a Fedora contributor that receives contributor-relevant information through other mediums

These assumptions may or may not be the same for other microblogging sites.

Other audience information It might be appropriate to list audience assumptions here for other microblogging sites. Notices are intended to be shared throughout the primary feeds on multiple services, so the assumptions should probably be summed to the greatest audience as opposed to a more restrictive one. --pfrields 19:01, 28 June 2010 (UTC)

Messages

It is important that the messaging from a Fedora microblog account be consistent with both the principles of the Fedora Project, the standards of good community participation within the F/LOSS community, and the message from the Fedora Marketing project. When possible, it is good practice to have a call to action in any post not addressed to an individual user.

Forbidden Items

The following items shall generally be forbidden topics for the Fedora microblog accounts:

propietary software (regardless of reference)

individuals outside of the Fedora community (i.e. Bill Gates and Richard Stallman should not be a part of our message)

other distributions

The exception to this is if the distribution is a downstream distribution (i.e. talking about the benefits accrued from OLPC using Fedora might be appropriate)

anything denigrating another free software project

Suggested Items

While not an exhaustive list, the following examples show the type of information that should be sent from a Fedora microblog account:

Favorable news articles or publications about Fedora

Releases of Beta and GA of Fedora.

Features and details about features contained within upcoming releases of Fedora

Case studies of microblog success

NAKEDPizza
The company, started in New Orleans, is attempting to make healthy pizza in an effort to battle obesity in the United States. When they were getting started in 2006, they decided that sending out the typical newsletters that other franchises send would be too costly, almost $3000 a year. They decided to use Twitter as a free alternative to the print advertising, Twitter has since become one of the biggest parts of the business, and is even used in their store allowing customers to sign up and begin following the company when they pick up pizza.

Etsy
This online market place where users can sell handmade goods as grown immensely since its birth in 2005. They set up a Twitter account early in their existence however, it was underutilized. That all changed when the company began to watch what their followers were saying on their Twitter accounts, and how they were promoting the use of Etsy. The people at Etsy believed, "Our community always comes up with great ideas." This got their community more involved with the company, and thus led directly to their expansion.

Applications of the Case Studies

Like NAKEDPizza, Fedora is trying to provide change in a market already dominated by larger companies with different ideals. Using Twitter would allow Fedora to save money in marketing, while still getting their name out there and gaining more followers to the Fedora community. Etsy also directly applies to how Twitter can help Fedora. The Fedora community is always involved in the technical side of things but, what if there was a different type of follower on that could help with the less technical applications of Fedora. That is what Twitter can bring to Fedora. Like the Etsy community, the Fedora community can come up with great ideas that can help improve and advertise world wide.

Ways to Use Microblogs

Get Feedback

Microblogs can be used to find alternative ideas for the project, our website assets, advertising, and products in general from from our followers. This connects Fedora more with our followers and can also help us work more effectively. Followers are able to respond back to posts with questions, requests for clarification or constructive criticism.

Direct Traffic

Microblogs can also be used to direct people to the Fedora Project website. A Fedora follower on a microblog/status service who is unfamiliar with Fedora can be pointed to the website to find more information.

News

Fedora can link news stories that are interesting to the Project and to Fedora followers on a microblog/status service. This can raise awareness to how popular Fedora is becoming, and how it is being talked about in the public eye.

Events

Finally, microblogs can be used to update followers on special events in the Fedora community. New product launch? Post about it so people can get excited. Any special day or moment for the Fedora Project can instantly be shared with all of the people interested, and make the event even bigger, and more special. Getting people excited about special Fedora events can increase popularity of the product, because the follower will feel involved.

Content

This section defines through example the type of content that is expected on our microblogging feeds.

Software patents in the USA have been invalidated! #SCOTUS decision at URL

#NYTimes reports #Fedora is the world's best and most stable #Linux distribution: URL

add other examples...

Reply to community members

@_______ Thanks, we're glad you love #Fedora too!

@_______ You can find some helpful information here: URL

Do not feed trolls or encourage argument; one reply per customer please.

Access

Currently the Fedora Project uses a shared password to our Identi.ca account to send out new statti and replies which get echoed out to Twitter. No currently available solution exists that will effectively manage shared access to Twitter and Identi.ca at a single point.

How to gain access to post to Fedora's microblog accounts

Request access on the marketing list. A user with access should invite you. These feeds are not unrestricted access, and not all requests will be automatically granted.

Access Control

To be added

Feedback

Direct notices or other feedback from these services needs to go to a group of responsible people. We've set up a FAS group, fedora-socialmedia, which can be used to set up receipt of these messages. (Mail goes to "fedora-socialmedia-members@fp.o".)

Members of this group should be active members of the Marketing group.

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